The stress is high!

As coral researchers, we are currently at the largest conference in our field, the International Coral Reef Symposium. And I finished processing my data the Friday before. Maybe I shouldn't post this on the blog, but we were four weeks out and I was still troubleshooting my data processing workflow. It’s been a frustrating six months to say the least.

Other conferences, I was not stressed. I am a good presenter (I like to think), public speaking doesn’t stress me out -- thanks to the hundreds of presentations I have done before (yay eco-tourism!). But this one is different, because I had nothing for my results slide.

I tried to calm myself with that the sessions and talks are not the primary draw for people. The all-stars in the field don’t really look at the individual talks and target them. It’s all about the moments between the sessions, the people you meet. The networking. So, I am trying to calm myself and say, its okay if I don't have a complete dataset and I present on the vibes my data is giving. But, I am still stressed.

And maybe this is reflective of my career position, but I love the talks! I flip through the entire catalogue and map out my week, putting little stars to the talks I want to attend. The first few conferences I went to, I was a pinball between rooms. I found new research avenues or new perspectives to include. It has caused me to question how to incorporate outside disciplines (art, mainly) into my work for better impact and outreach. Maybe the talks excite me so much because I am still relatively new to this research game. All I know is my camera roll is full by the end of the week.

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Tip: take photos of slides, anything you find interesting or want to revisit, snap a photo!

I always wonder how the All-Stars spark their research creativity, or are they all-knowing -- maybe the intersection of architecture, ecology and physics is so obvious to them. Is there a point in your career where you don’t need to go to conferences? Where people will reach out and network with you regardless if your present or not (probably). Is it only for early career researchers? The attendance list says otherwise.

Conferences are stressful, but they can be so beneficial. I went to a talk at the Australian Coral Reef Symposium and heard about climate change impacts on ocean hydrology, it sparked a research avenue I hadn't considered. I was able to connect with the leaders in reef hydrodynamic modelling within the Great Barrier Reef region. This will be my fourth conference and the one where I finally don't feel overwhelmed (beside the no results section in my powerpoint). I was advised to reach out to people you one day wish to work with and send an email. Write down the questions you want to pepper them with and focus on your broader career strategy or research goals. This is the purpose of conferences, to facilitate collaboration and the exposure to other disciplines.

Me at the Australian Coral Reef Symposium Conference in 2025 presenting findings on the first chapter of my PhD.

I’ll try to focus on my career strategy and not my five minutes (how do I cover anything in five minutes!!!) scheduled talk. Wish me luck!